posted January 23, 2003 09:36 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Cave Carson:
Unca Bob, any chance of seeing trade paperbacks for the Charlton Blue Beetle?
Great Ditko stuff there. Wouldn't sneeze at a nice collection of CREEPER and HAWK & DOVE, either.

Another great series that screams for collection is Sam Glanzmans' USS STEVENS stories.

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I'll second this (poor Ditko's great DC and Charlton work has been ignored for too long...

(And, elsewhere, it has been worked out that the Blue Beetle & Question Charlton material could fit nicely into one Archive...hopefully also including the barely published Blue Beetle #6! The one the great folks at Charlton Bullseye published...)

posted January 23, 2003 10:37 AM               

Any possibility of a TPB of Sam Glanzman's USS Stevens stories that ran through DC's early 70's war comics? I believe there were 58 installments at roughly 5 pages each. OK, maybe two trades.

Best Regards,

posted January 23, 2003 10:44 AM               

CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS did better than expected so a second volume seems logical, no?

As for how we pick our books, it's covered, oh, about 20 pages back. Why ADAM STRANGE? Lots of reasons including the current hot popularity of the brothers Kubert.

Expanding on that, we had a mid-course correction meeting yesterday, moving books around the schedule, adding stuff based on sales and demand. It's one reason why I don't reveal month by month plans ahead of solicitation since this happens a lot. I'm personally excited about some of the additions and look forward to jumping on them.

WHY I HATE SATURN being taken out of print means there is not enough interest in keeping it in print.

No discussions over any ANIMAL MAN collections post-Morrison.

We've maintained our Archive look since the line was introduced over a decade ago. With nearly 100 volumes in print, we'd be awfully foolish to change the trade dress. Marvel, when they brought the line back in the late 1990s, found the gold frame too expensive to their way of thinking os had Comicraft do a resdesign. When I got hold of the line, I insisted on a new trade dress befitting a $50 volume. Bill Jemas got intimately involved in the final look and that seems to be sticking.

And no, I will not use this forum to get into a trade collection debate between Bill's public statements and my own experiences, beliefs.

I....Vampire? Batman: Haunted Gotham? Never say never, but not likely.

As stated elsewhere, Ditko's Charlton work keeps coming up in discussion--ideas have been floated. So...we'll see.

HUSH is two acts, issues #608-612 and issues #613-619. They work well separately and together and the reasons espoused by others here cover the same thinking we employed. Will there be a combo volume? Mabe, but we'll see how everything sells.

DC press conferece? Me? I haven't formally spoken to the press except once since I got back here in May. Where was this?

Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day...these all sound like good ideas. Let me think on this.

Supergirl's story is certainly worthy of collection. We'll see.

No doubt, the artist forgot the tiara, the editor missed it and we deemed it not worth the cost of making new film when we did the SINS OF YOUTH collection.

posted January 23, 2003 11:01 AM            

Here's a strange question: a few years back, several Archives were released with logos. I'm remembering FLASH VOLUME 1 and ACTION VOLUME 1. There might have been others, but that's all I remember.

Would DC consider the possibility of a swap? The completely anal geeky collector side of me would like all my Archives to have the same basic design. Could I send my dust jackets in (paying postage, etc.) and get replacements? I know DC did this a while back when the CRISIS hardcover came out and the dust jackets were bad.

Or, if that's not possible, would DC consider selling replacement jackets for a small fee?

posted January 23, 2003 11:33 AM               

Also, I wasn't trying to get you into a pissing match with Marvel over their TPB policies. Sorry if it seemed that way--it just seemed like a big news announcement that was germane to the discussion here.

And I'm still curious about the possibility of a Wein/Aparo Phantom Stranger collection! I want my Tanarak and Tala!

posted January 23, 2003 12:01 PM            

1)Do you, Mr G, overlook the entire DC or just the mainstream DC? In other words, are you also in charge of Wildstorm & Homage tpbs?

2)Why does there seem to be such a lag time between collections of monthly DC books? I’m not asking for instant-reprints like Marvel does, but some of these books could be coming out sooner, I think.

3)When will the rest of Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow be collected? Ditto for Meltzer’s.

4)I’m a softcover kinda guy who only buys hardcovers unless absolutely-frickin necessary. So is it true that DC employs a “softcover after one year” policy on all its hardcovers? I noticed that GA Quiver SC is coming out about a year after the HC came out. And given that there’s a JLA Earth 2 and Danger Girl softcovers, will the same happen with Wonder Woman Hikketia & Virtue and Vice as well? Or does the softcover treatment depend on how well the hardcover sales do initially? I’d like some clarification.

5)Though I hate to say it, it’s very obvious that Joe Mad’s not gonna finish Battle Chasers. So is there any chance the entire 9 issues (though they make for an incomplete story) be collected? Or at least, could a hardcover of the existing softcover (that collects the first 5 issues) be put out perhaps? It's a shame that the series is just sitting out there unfinished, or at least not at one place.

6)Will more Hellblazer tpbs with Ennis’ work be done? Or at least one by Jenkins?

7)Given that the first couple issues of Wildcats 3.0 were sold out (like Y the Last man). Will a tpb of its current arc be out sometime soon? I know that the last of vol 2 is getting collected, and that’s good. So how about 3.0?

posted January 23, 2003 12:13 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by James Friel:
No question in my mind: they're going to kill the market for their floppies.

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So?

I don't mean that to be as flip as it sounds -- these products seem specifically geared towards a market that doesn't walk in to comics shops, ever, so I guess I don't see a problem in weak floppy sales if the trades do well in book stores.

Anyway, I'm not convinced that quick trades lead to poor floppy sales. For instance, CrossGen and Oni Press trade essentially everything they publish within six months of release, and they both do solid business in floppies despite the fact that probably 1/3 - 1/2 of the comics stores in the country don't stock them.

--Cliffy

posted January 23, 2003 12:15 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by monkey:
Oh and also:
8) I hear that there's a GA/GL Hard Travellin Heroes hardcover. I havn't been able to find it, or its softcover, if there was one ever made. Is it out of print? Could it be brought back in print?

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I know this one! (More or less...)

There was a limited edition collection of GL 76-89 a couple of years back (similar to the recent Deadman collection...)

posted January 23, 2003 12:20 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by monkey:
Oh and also:
8) I hear that there's a GA/GL Hard Travellin Heroes hardcover. I havn't been able to find it, or its softcover, if there was one ever made. Is it out of print? Could it be brought back in print?

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Here is the hardcover -- the softcover version is actually in 2 volumes, available here.

Both were released within the last couple of years and should be readily available.

posted January 23, 2003 12:26 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Cliffy Mark II:
So?

I don't mean that to be as flip as it sounds -- these products seem specifically geared towards a market that doesn't walk in to comics shops, ever, so I guess I don't see a problem in weak floppy sales if the trades do well in book stores....

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posted January 23, 2003 01:14 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by JeffD:
would DC consider selling replacement jackets for a small fee?

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posted January 23, 2003 01:18 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JeffD:
Hi, Bob-

Here's a strange question: a few years back, several Archives were released with logos. I'm remembering FLASH VOLUME 1 and ACTION VOLUME 1. There might have been others, but that's all I remember.

Would DC consider the possibility of a swap? The completely anal geeky collector side of me would like all my Archives to have the same basic design. Could I send my dust jackets in (paying postage, etc.) and get replacements? I know DC did this a while back when the CRISIS hardcover came out and the dust jackets were bad.

Or, if that's not possible, would DC consider selling replacement jackets for a small fee?

Thanks-
Jeff

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at first i chuckled at this, but it's true, we are an anal bunch. i waited to buy FLASH 1 until i saw that the logo was changed. that wasn't the whole reason, but once i saw that it was, i decided to take the plunge. and truthfully, i would like my ACTION 1 to match the others...i would also like my LEGION 6 to match the other legions...

i too was wondering about some sort of trade-in program...?

posted January 23, 2003 01:29 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by James Friel:
So, indeed.
My response wasn't meant to be condemnatory. If they want the floppies to go away, that's fine by me.

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But when the floppies go away, are most readers prepared to see the prices of the soft and hardcover originals go way, way up? Revenue generated by the floppies accounts for the low prices of many TPBs. If DC sold the original 96-page JLA: Earth 2 at $24.95, imagine what something like JLA: Rock of Ages would have cost if it had been published as a book first. (And properties less popular than JLA or Batman would probably never get published at all at those prices, in that format.) The TPB market has been built on, and continues to depend on, the continued existence of the floppy market. If the initial floppy market dries up, and TPBs have to absorb all the initial creative and production costs currently covered by floppy sales, the publishers are going to have the same problem in the bookstores that they're having in the comic shops--"They expect me to pay HOW MUCH for that?" And those bookstore inroads DC and Marvel have made suddenly start leading right out the door.

posted January 23, 2003 02:49 PM               

Also, reading the above comments about the "floppies",( nice name - think thats going to stick !), over here in the UK, many comic shops tend to display a good selection of TPB's,& hardly any back issues of floppies.
Certainly, recently one loong time shop has closed, having had 75% off "weekends" for nearly 2 years, in an attempt to get rid of back stock.
Is this the same with you guys in the States ?
It seems that the postal/mail order companies/shops only stock the back issue floppies.

& hey, does this mean that floppies are going to flop ?

posted January 23, 2003 03:06 PM               

What about a Zatanna "Quest for Zatara" TPB supporting Paul Dini's Zatanna for Vertigo?

I think this could work!

Best regards,

posted January 23, 2003 04:50 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr. Scarlet:
Is it worth it for DC to archive a series of books that can be picked up for about the same $50 for the original issues? For the Legion, they are a proven Archive seller, for new stuff there is no track record, but a high cost of the original book does point to some demand for the character.

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In the case of New Teen Titans, it's worth it. We already have one volume in print, with another in the offing. I think there's more to Archive decisions than merely the rarity and book value of comics. Quality and historical importance play a key factor as well, and I would like it to stay that way.

Oh, yeah, and DC has to be convinced that it would sell. Even the most artistically well-rendered, historically important and rare,valuable comic won't get Archive treatment if DC will lose their shirt on it.

Bring on New Teen Titans and New Gods, please And all that other good stuff that's been mentioned too! And do it now? Thanks.

posted January 23, 2003 05:01 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by davidbstewart:
Any possibility of a TPB of Sam Glanzman's USS Stevens stories that ran through DC's early 70's war comics? I believe there were 58 installments at roughly 5 pages each. OK, maybe two trades.

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posted January 23, 2003 06:32 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by monkey:
Oh and also:
8) I hear that there's a GA/GL Hard Travellin Heroes hardcover. I havn't been able to find it, or its softcover, if there was one ever made. Is it out of print? Could it be brought back in print?

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quote:

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Originally posted by BearPaws:
Both were released within the last couple of years and should be readily available.

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Originally posted by datalore: I know this one! (More or less...)

There was a limited edition collection of GL 76-89 a couple of years back (similar to the recent Deadman collection...)

For all the times these stories have been reprinted, do we need them again? (Obviously, by your question...maybe yes? rest of this, I field to Bob...)[/QUOTE]

Yes, DC Comics did release two trade paperback volumes reprinting the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams back in 1992 (vol. 1) and 1993 (vol. 2). These two books are no longer in print. Best bet is to find any comic shops or second hand bookstores that may have them, or check through online auction sites like ebay.com or other places where sellers are offering them for sale.

As for the GL/GA hardcover slipcase set that came out a few years ago, it can still be found for sale. I believe this book is now out-of-print, with DC Comics themselves sold out in their backlist of books from the Diamond Comics Distributor's Star System backlist. Try online auctions, comic shops, or online bookshops like amazon.com who may still have the item available in stock. Who knows, you may get a deal from that huge cover price from somewhere.